Privacy Policy

Burbles is an app for spotting cars on the road and collecting them, with a catalogue of cars to browse. Questions about this policy or your data: [email protected].

The short version: we collect what the app needs to work. We don't sell your data, show ads, or track you across other apps and websites. Your spots, their photos and where you took them are private to you and to the Burbles team who review them, unless you choose to publish them.

What we collect, and why

Browsing without an account

• A random device identifier the app creates on first launch and stores on your phone. It isn't your phone's advertising ID or any hardware ID. We use it to limit how often one device can use costly features, to count one vote per device, and to carry what you did before signing in over to your account. We also use it to count how the app is used: the days it's opened and for how long, which screens are visited, which update it runs, and when the Pro page is opened or a purchase is started and how it ended. These counts tell us what works and what to fix; they stay with us.
• Photos you ask Burbles to identify. The photo is sent to our server and to Anthropic, which identifies the car, and is not stored by us. We keep the result (which cars it suggested, and how sure it was) with the device identifier, to measure accuracy and limit use.
• Things you choose to post in the Paddock (a name, a handle, text, links, photos and videos), along with your votes, reports and blocks. Paddock posts and replies are public.

Browsing the car catalogue doesn't require an account and doesn't send us anything about you beyond the device identifier.

When you create an account

• From Sign in with Apple or Google, through our sign-in provider Clerk: an account ID, your email address, and your name and profile photo if the provider shares them. With Sign in with Apple you can hide your email; we then receive a relay address.
• Your handle and display name, which are public.
• A profile photo and a cover photo, if you set them. You choose these from your photo library; both are uploaded and are public on your profile.
• A push notification token, if you turn notifications on, stored with your device, its platform and its language so we can send only the notifications you asked for. Turning notifications off stops it.
• Your birth year, only the year, to confirm you're 16 or older. It's never shown to anyone and can't be changed later.
• Your time zone, from your phone, to decide which day your activity counts toward.
• What you do in the app: cars you save or follow, your Dream Trio, builds, comparisons, the daily challenge, points, sets, badges, "firsts" and notifications.

When you post, build or message

• Paddock posts and replies: your text, links, and any photos or videos you attach. These are public. A post carrying a photo, video, link or flagged language is held for review before anyone else sees it.
• Builds: the car you claim as yours, its modifications, the city it lives in, and the photos and clips you upload of it. A published build is public.
• Shoots and posters: the photo sets and posters you make. Every poster is reviewed before it reaches anybody's wall.
• Direct messages between you and another member, kept so the conversation works. They are not public. If someone reports a message, that message reaches our moderation queue.

When you spot a car

• The photo you take with the Burbles camera. Spots can only be taken with the in-app camera. Before storage we remove the photo's hidden metadata (EXIF, which can include location and device details). The photo is kept in private storage and opened only through short-lived links for you and the reviewers.
• When and where you took it. Your phone asks for location permission when you first spot a car. We store the exact coordinates to help verify the spot, and delete them after 90 days. We also keep a rough area of about 5 km for the life of the spot, used only to check for duplicates and to limit repeated points; it's never shown. What the app shows is an area name, such as a neighbourhood or city, worked out on your phone. It's never a street.
• Home zones you add (up to three, stored at roughly 100 m precision), so spots near them never show an area at all.
• A photo check. When a spot's photo is identified, we also record how likely it is to be a photo of a screen or a print, to help reviewers. It's never used to reject a spot automatically.

Your phone's motion sensor tilts the foil on rare cards. That happens only on your phone; the motion data isn't sent to us.

What we don't collect

• No advertising identifiers, and no third-party analytics or tracking tools: the usage counts above are our own.
• No licence plate numbers or vehicle identification numbers. A spot records a car model, never which individual car it was.
• No contacts, and no photos from your library except ones you pick yourself: an owner card, which stays on your phone, or a profile photo, cover photo, poster, post attachment or build photo, which you choose deliberately and which is uploaded.

Who can see what

Public: your handle, display name, profile photo and cover photo, and anything you post in the Paddock — posts, replies, builds, shoots and posters. A car page shows counts of confirmed spots and followers, never who spotted or follows it.

Not public: your email, birth year, time zone, device identifier, push token, saved and followed cars, your direct messages, and your spots, their photos and their locations unless you publish them.

Who processes data for us

These providers process data on our behalf to run the service. Some are based in the United States, so your data may be processed there.

How long we keep it

Deleting your account

In the app, go to Settings → Delete Account. This deletes your account and sign-in, your profile and its photos, spots and their photos, saved and followed cars, builds and the photos and clips in them, shoots, posters, notes, points, badges, notifications, your push notification token, your direct messages, your Paddock profile, posts and replies, and your votes. It completes within 30 days.

A few records stay without any link to you:

• Identification results, which are our accuracy record.
• Anonymous counts, such as how many people asked for a car to be rated or added.
• Moderation reports.
• Any "first" you earned stays on the car, credited to "a former member".

You can also email [email protected] to ask for a copy of your data, to correct it, or to delete it.

Children

Burbles accounts are for people 16 and older. We ask for a birth year before an account can be used, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger. If you think a child has given us personal information, email us and we'll delete it.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your data, and to object to or restrict how we use it. Email [email protected] and we'll respond within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Safety

Only spot cars when you're parked or on foot, never while driving.

Changes

We'll update this page when our data practices change, and tell you in the app before a significant change takes effect.